Review And Interview With Betty Moon

Betty Moon is a recognized Toronto- Born singer, producer and Rock ‘N’ roll fashionista, who continues to defy trends with her edgy electronic pop, soul and rock. Moon has achieved success through her previous releases, as well as TV and Films. Her music has featured in several shows like The Walking Dead and Californification, which has led to numerous award nominations.

Moon has gained a following through her social media accounts, and has featured in heavy rotation across worldwide retail airplay, as well as appearing in several publications. The singer is set to release her 9th album Hellucination, which is a follow up to 2017’s Chromes. The 6 track EP draws influences from underground sounds ranging from rock, soul and electro pop. This self – produced piece explores Moon’s sultry vocals in more detail, alongside an injection of soul-searching lyrics, dynamic beats, and a sense of empowerment.

Hellucination exposes Moon’s ear for detail, and an ability to engage listeners with her visionary, and a sense of adventure. I will be exploring the EP further, as well as conducting an interview with the star about her upcoming release.

Fear Takes Control opens proceedings with a twisted trip through electronica beats and a dark passage recited by Moon. This intricate usage of thick synthesizers and hollow singing reminds me of the late Prodigy, as the dark tones and textures evoke images of a tortured soul.

Dirty Love is an introspective look at betrayal. Moon’s vocals are soulful and steeped with emotion, accompanied by a backing drumbeat that emphasizes each point of fragility. This track has an injection of the singer’s vocal range that flickers between mid-tempo cries of “I can’t get enough of your dirty love” to a more dynamic pitch of howls. The tempo changes throughout each verse as Moon ponders what she had with the other character. This causes a change in vocals that build with each beat to reflect the countered emotions the star feels.

Violent City is a more upbeat dance track with more brighter beats. Moon’s vocals are distorted at times; like a woman singing alone down an empty street. The synths contort with more fuzzy beats to produce a track more appropriate for these summer days.

Save My Soul is the lead track on the album which Moon’s vocals continue to steal the listener with raw emotion and variety that leads you to feel empathy towards her. The fuzzy synth sound and electronic beats do sound like Moon is trying to find an escape through distorted vocals around the bridge.

Get Your Gun features a more grunge rock sound with high energy driven distorted guitar. Moon’s vocals are sensual and energetic that feels soul inducing with a powerful range.

Hello Betty, congratulations on your newest release. Can you explain what fans are to expect from your new album Hellucination?

Thank you! I think longtime fans of Betty Moon can expect a nice mix of my original sound and much of a electronic/pop that I’ve been putting into my music as of late. For those that don’t know, I have my latest single “Save My Soul” out now and that will be on ‘Hellucination’. Up until and after the album comes out there will be multiple singles and music videos made available, just to keep things fresh and interesting over the upcoming months.

On first listen, I can hear a lot of ideas going into the lyrics and music. Is the album title Hellucination about this?

I like to leave the lyrics and deeper meanings of every song up to the listener to make it their own. However, the overall vibe and theme of the album is fairly direct, and explores how we are all living in a ‘Hellucination’. It was really fun putting this album together, and I couldn’t be happier with how it came out.

It is quite eclectic with sounds ranging from electronica to pop to rock. Did these genres have any inspiration behind the thought process in the album?

I think it’s really a combination of everything I’ve been influenced by since I started listening to music long ago. Since my music has a blend of rock, pop and electronic, it’s only a given that many of these songs will touch on themes that some of the artists I grew up on talked about. However, I make a conscious effort to always blaze my own trail and write about the things that truly mean something to me.

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What was the writing process like behind making it?

It took about a year to fully write, pre-produce, hit the studio and mix ‘Hellucination’. Some of these songs came together in a day, while others were pieced together over the months. I worked with my team to write a lot of these, and some ideas were over email, but many were simply by us being in a room together with the agenda of writing some great music.

I understand you self-produced the album. Was it difficult to write and produce the album together?

Not at all, I’ve been doing this a long time and since I didn’t have a deadline to finish the album things really came together naturally. Sometimes artists are under the gun to wrap an album and it can add unwanted pressure or even kill the vibe of the music. I made it a priority to self produce an album that made me 110% happy and take the time needed to get all the work done without hiccups.

What was the recording process behind it like for you?

I tracked everything at my studio here in Malibu, CA. We used real drums, guitars, bass and tracked everything using real gear, heads, cabs, mics etc. You get it, the way it ought to be for a great rock/electronic record. Much of ‘Hellucination’ has electronic instruments (keys etc), so for anything rock I wanted to make sure it was organic. We spent sometimes entire days in the studio tracking this thing, and other times just an hour or two to work on some critical parts.

And do you feel there is a different sense of pressure producing an album, in comparison to being a singer and writer in the studio?

Sometimes you get in your head about parts or you second guess your work. That’s the only downside of handling so much of it yourself. I didn’t feel too much pressure though, there wasn’t a deadline to get this album done.

As a producer, I imagine you need an astute ear, do you feel this was important in making the album?

Absolutely, sometimes I have to come back to parts of a song or a mix the next day so I can rest up and be ready to listen. After a long day in the studio that ear for a great song/mix can get fried, so talent is really half the battle. That’s why artists and producers need a good amount of time in the studio, so there’s time to rest and revisit parts with a fresh set of ears.

Do you see yourself being critical of some parts, in comparison to being a performer and having a producer instruct you?

It’s a blessing and a curse. I can only imagine most people in my position would agree. It’s nice to have outside feedback, which I do get from my band, other producers and professionals that I work with.

Did you perform all the instruments on the tracks, or did you get help from a backing band?

I have a tight knit group of other musicians that help me in studio and live (drums/bass/guitar etc). I play guitar, keys and obviously know production, but it’s so important to have the best musicians around in your circle to help.

You recently released ‘Save My Soul’, the track has a cool vibe towards it with hints of Lana Del Rey and Lady Gaga. Could you explain the concept behind the track?

I wanted to create a song with just this sort of pulse and vibe, and once that came together the lyrics came to mind pretty quick. The song is about how we all need our soul saved at some point. We’re all different but alike in more ways than not. With how crazy and fucked up the world is, sometimes it can get the best of us and we need our soul rejuvenated.

On the album you have remixed ‘Crazy’. What was your decision behind the idea to do this?

I just really like that song, and the remix just made a lot of sense for “Crazy” specifically. I’ve done remixes for a lot of songs off past albums, whether I handle the remix or hire other mixer/producers, and it really helps keep things fresh.

As I have previously alluded to, the album is quite diverse. Tracks like ‘Get Your Gun’ are heavy with nods to grunge, whilst ‘Dirty Love’ are more soulful. I feel both bring a lot out of your voice. Are these elements that went through your mind when you first approached the album?

I didn’t really think about that when writing the album, honestly I’ve always just been into early/mid 90’s rock and 80’s electronic music. Thankfully I came up with some pretty cool ideas that happen to work over the different genres of music. Some of the tracks on the record I intentionally wanted to write, but most of them just came naturally during the writing sessions.

Did you find these songs came to you easily, or was it a lengthy process for you?

It really depends on the song, some came to me so easily. Others were like pulling teeth to put together because so much time passed and I was double-triple checking the songs, wondering if they were perfect. As mentioned though, since there wasn’t a deadline it made things much easier.

This is your 9th studio release. Do you see differences in your approach in comparison to your first album?

It’s an absolutely 180 degree turn from how things were done in the 90’s. I now come equipped with wisdom, technology and badassery that I didn’t have before. Things are a lot more streamlined, with less guesswork and it’s a heck of a lot cheaper to make the music now.

Do you plan a tour in support of the album?

Nothing planned at the moment, but we are thinking of ways to get a live show created for songs off ‘Hellucination’ and my last album ‘Chrome’.

And finally, what are your future plans for Betty Moon?

I’m working on a lot of things that will surprise the fans and industry, so you’ll have to wait and see. For the immediate future though I have a lot of content produced for ‘Hellucination’ including music videos, remixes and a couple more singles.

Written by Anselm Anderson - UK / Lancaster

My name is Anselm and I have a strong passion for music. I host two rock radio shows for the internet on a weekly basis. Also, I have experience in the past year of writing music reviews and conducting interviews with upcoming artists for several online music magazines. My main goal is to continue to write for thse interested in learning about what is new in the musical world.

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